Dieter Kopp was born in Prien am Chiemsee, Bavaria, in 1939. Having undergone an apprenticeship in the art of stained glass and mosaics at the Mayer’sche Hofkunstanstalt as a teenager, Kopp then moved to the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich for a short period. In 1958 he left Munich for Paris, where he lived until 1961. Four years in Florence followed, and one in New York. He has been based permanently in Rome since 1966, with long periods in Greece.

His first solo show took place at the Santa Croce Gallery in Florence in 1965. He has participated in a wide array of exhibitions in Rome, including Bailey, Kopp, Theimer: Three foreign artists in Italy, presented by Giuliano Briganti and Mario Quesada at the National Institute for Graphics (1988), Urban Symphony at Galleria Il Narciso (2006), Thanks for once at Valentina Bonomo Gallery (2006), In the name and in memory of Carla Mendini at Galleria Giulia (2008) and Colours on the city at Palazzo Valentini (2008). He has also enjoyed numerous personal exhibitions at major exhibition spaces in Italy and abroad, including the Drawing Shop in New York (1974), Galleria La Nuova Pesa in Rome, with a catalogue introduction by Antonello Trombadori (1974), Galleria Il Gabbiano in Rome (1976), the Giulia Library in Rome, with a selection of drawings curated by Mario Quesada (1982), the Giulia Gallery in Rome, including 40 works and writing (1985), Galleria dell’Oca in Rome, with text by Giorgio Agamben (1985), the Forni Gallery in Bologna, with a presentation by Fabrizio D’Amico (2000), the Carlo Virgilio Gallery in Rome with text by Jean Clair (2000) and the Elle Arte Gallery in Palermo, with texts by Bruno Caruso and Stefano Malatesta (2002). He has been a member of the National Academy of San Luca since 1989.